Phobia
by DoctorClaryPotterPendragon
Summary: So this is a requested two-shot about a fear of Merlin's and how protective Arthur and the knights are of him.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first try at a requested oneshot, hope I do paramalik's ideas justice! I am up for anymore requests on Merlin, or any fandoms listed on my profile.**

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Merlin's POW

Merlin's heart leapt into his throat as something rustled in the nearby bushes. He was part of a small hunting party, just Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and himself,meandering back from a fairly unsuccessful hunt, thanks to Merlin's efforts, of course.

"What was that noise?" Merlin called out, a slight quiver in his voice. He knew what often made that noise when slithering around the forest.

"Probably just a snake or something" called back Elyan from up ahead.

Merlin's eyes widened a fraction, and suddenly went pale, his worst fear confirmed. He felt his throat go dry and subtly moved away toward the middle of the path.

Arthur POV

Most people, even those who knew Merlin well wouldn't have noticed his sudden shakiness, but Arthur's keen eyes spotted this immediately. He knew Merlin almost as well as he knew himself, and was always watching out for him to make sure he wasn't in any danger. However, he couldn't resist exploiting this slightly, and couldn't help but pick fun at the boy he felt to be almost the younger brother he never had, not that he would ever admit this,naturally.

"What are you, scared Merlin? You are _**such**_ a girl's petticoat sometimes."

The knights around him laughed, enjoying the prince and manservant's banter, that was always a great source of entertainment for them.

Merlin's POV

If only Arthur knew how petrified Merlin was. But he was too embarrassed to let anyone know about his biggest fear; snakes. So he put on a fake cheery voice, and retorted, "Well at least I'm not a dollophead."  
Arthur shook Merlin cheeky comment with a laugh, he was used to it by now.

Later...

Arthur POV

They were still about an hour away from Camelot, and boredom was setting in. To make everyone laugh, Gwaine decided to scare Merlin into thinking he had a snake on his back, for a bit of harmless fun. He drew the blunt edge of his sword down Merlin's  
back, whilst crying out, "Watch out Merlin! There's a snake on your back!"  
Merlin leapt into the air and span around in fright. The look on his face was one that Arthur had never really seen on Merlin; fear. Merlin was one of the bravest people he knew, Arthur had almost believed he wasn't afraid of anything. _Maybe it's just the shock. Or maybe it is something more,_ he  
thought. However, he was bored and he doubted it was anything more than the slight fear of snakes that many people had. So he joined in the knights' laughter.

"Honestly _**Mer**_ lin, it's not even real, you are such a girl", he crowed.  
Suddenly Merlin sunk to the ground, shaken, his face ashen. All laughter stopped as they all realised Merlin must be genuinely terrified of snakes. A huge wave of guilt washed over Arthur as he stood stock still in disbelief. _Merlin was actually scared of snakes?_

Percival was the first to carefully approach Merlin.

Merlin POV

"I'm afraid of spiders" Percival murmured gently down to him.  
"You are?" Merlin whispered. He knew Percival was a gentle giant really, but he was so big and brave Merlin had believed he wasn't afraid of anything.  
The others began to sit down beside him.  
"Yeah and I'm afraid of rats. They make my skin crawl" added Leon.  
"I've hated heights ever since I nearly fell off the battlements during a battle" commented Elyan.  
"I sometimes have nightmares about all the taverns in Camelot closing" joked Gwaine. "But seriously mate, it's ok to have a phobia, everyone does.  
They all looked to Arthur for his input.  
"What? I don't have any fears".  
The knights glared at Arthur.  
""Ok, ok, I suppose that I fear the deaths of those closest to me. And the downfall of Camelot." Arthur grimaced.  
"So you see we all have fears Merlin. It's often best to talk about these things. Why are you so terrified of snakes?"  
Merlin thought back to his childhood in Ealdor, and one of the worst days of his life. He was seven years old, and had been playing with Will in the forest near his home. They had been playing hide and seek, and Merlin was hidden behind a tree, giggling at how Will couldn't find him. He stepped back, and turned to run to a new hiding place, but looked up into the face of a snake rearing up at him. He had trodden on its tail as he stepped grabbed the nearest thing to him, a stick off the ground, and used it to beat away the serpent. Will noticed to commotion and rushed in to help beat it away. They managed to hit it over the head hard enough for it to slither away I defeat, but not before biting Merlin on the leg.  
Although he had escaped relatively unscathed, the incident still gave Merlin nightmares.  
He related the story to the knights and show led them the scar on his leg. They were sympathetic and promised him they would make sure they protected him from anything without legs that ever slithered near him again.  
As they stood up to leave, Merlin realised how comforting the knights were, and how they had cheered him up. He then truly believed that he had the best brothers in the world.

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 **So I really like how this story is going, so will make it into a two shot, where the knights try and help Merlin overcome his phobia, and with an extra twist. Hope you all enjoyed, please review, and thanks again to the wonderful paramalik for requesting this! x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, here's the second installment!**

 **Disclaimer: IDOM**

Arthur shushed his knights, who were laughing at Gwaine's antics whilst hiding behind a cupboard in Arthur's chambers.  
"Do you all remember the plan?" he hissed, glaring particularly at the troublesome tavern lover.  
"How many times, we know the plan princess" Gwaine glared back. "We wait for Merlin, keep him in the room, and help him get over his phobia by using the snake." He glanced at Percival, who was patting the snake fondly. "If we can get it away from the weirdo over there that is."  
"Oi! She has a name you know!" Percival said, insulted.  
"Since when?" questioned Elyan.  
"Since I named her Viper," Percival said proudly.  
"That's a stupid name! We are trying to make it seem less scary for Merlin, not more. Call it Flower or something" Gwaine retorted.  
Arthur sighed in exasperation. "Who even cares? Merlin should be here any moment, so just shut up!"  
The knights reluctantly nodded, and just then the door to Arthur's chambers opened, revealing Merlin carrying a pile of clothes. Arthur stepped out from behind the cupboard, setting the plan in motion. "So… I've been thinking Merlin, about your fear of snakes. I believe it will be best for you if you tried to overcome it. Right now," Arthur grinned brightly.  
"W…w...what?" Merlin stammered. He whirled round to find that all the exits had been blocked by the Knights of the Round Table. "Shouldn't you all be off hitting dummies or something, seriously I'm fine," Merlin pleaded.  
"It's for your own good Merlin," instructed Leon. "Don't worry, we won't rush you. Now let's all just take a seat, and talk, whilst Percival holds the snake on the other side of the table".  
Merlin reluctantly sat down, and the others quickly followed suit. As a playful banter started up between Arthur and Gwaine, Merlin stared at the horror in front of him.  
"What do you think Merlin? Gwaine's being an idiot isn't he!" Arthur nudged Merlin in the side, noticing the paleness of Merlin's face - he had not thought it could turn any paler than it already was!  
"Huh? Um…yeah sure whatever." Merlin shook himself out of a stupor, trying to recall what Arthur had said.  
"Look Merlin, don't worry. Your fear of snakes is perfectly normal. We will try and get you through this, so just stay calm and try to relax," he said comfortingly.

Meanwhile...  
Sir Malcolm's POV  
Malcolm arrived at Arthur's door in order to deliver message. He was about to knock, but stopped, hearing voices from within. He hesitated, before lowering his arm, and eavesdropping on the conversation.  
"Look Merlin, don't worry. Your fear of snakes is perfectly normal. We will try and get you through this, so just stay calm and try to relax."  
Malcolm backed away from the door, elated at what he had heard. He had hated that incorrigible, insubordinate, infallible little upstart Merlin from the day he had arrived in Camelot, swanning around, talking to Arthur cheekily as if he had a right to. It was as if he believed he was Arthur's friend or something ridiculous like that. He had been waiting to get something he could use against Merlin, and this was it. He departed quickly from the corridor, his original purpose forgotten.  
Merlin's POV  
After an hour of sitting around talking, the knights began to grow restless. "How about we wrap up this first session" announced Arthur. He turned to Merlin. "And you should be proud of yourself Merlin, this is a great achievement."  
Merlin smiled gratefully. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate this."  
"Anything for a friend," Elyan said, ruffling Merlin's hair. The others murmured in agreement, and left, clapping Marlin on the back, and leaving Merlin beaming at being called their friend.

The next morning...

Merlin's POV  
Merlin was jogging along the corridor outside Arthur's chambers to rouse the prat from his slumber, when he stopped dead in his tracks. An ear-splitting scream filled the air, and he looked round to see where it had come from, before realising that he was the one screaming. His breathing sped up, and his heart began beating out of his chest. He backed against the wall, putting as much distance between the huge snake prowling around on the floor, and himself. Black spots appeared at the edge of his vision, as he started to have flashbacks.  
Arthur's POV  
Arthur was shaken out of his sleep by a piercing scream. He almost fell out of bed in his haste to grab his sword and stand up. He glanced around the room quickly, to check if the danger was in there, before realising it wasn't, and sprinting out of the door. He burst into the corridor and skidded to a halt at the scene before him. His sleep addled brain took a while to process the fact that Merlin was pale and shaken, and backed up against a wall. Then, he took in the large snake, and suddenly kicked into action. He called for a guard, who rushed round the corner, and told him to take away the harmless, albeit large snake. He guided Merlin into his room, and sat him down, giving him space and time to calm down before Arthur would ask for an explanation of what had just happened.  
After a few minutes, and several cups of water, Merlin had calmed down enough to talk to Arthur.  
"So what on earth happened?" Arthur asked.  
"I have no idea. One moment I was coming to wake you up, the next I was faced with that…creature" Merlin replied shakily.  
Suddenly the knights flew in through the door. Upon hearing what had happened, they had rushed off straight away to help comfort Merlin. "What's going on? We heard Merlin stumbled upon a snake out there," Gwaine said breathlessly.  
"We have no idea," replied Arthur. He looked at them suspiciously. "So if definitely wasn't any of you lot?"  
"Of course not!" Gwaine looked offended by the mere idea.  
"It is quite a coincidence though," mused Leon.  
"Maybe it is just that though. We shall keep our eyes open, just in case."

Four days later...  
Arthur's POV  
Arthur had had enough. Merlin was constantly on edge, on the verge of going back to Ealdor for a while, and any progress they made during their sessions was immediately ruined by yet another snake conveniently appearing near Merlin. So far he had been subjected to finding them in his bed, around the castle, and in the stables, which also caused havoc as Merlin had to flee a dozen skittish horses who were also terrified by the snake.  
Someone in Camelot was purposely doing this to hurt Merlin. Arthur felt sick at the thought of someone harming someone as innocent and trusting as Merlin. He needed to catch whoever was doing this. After half an hour of deep thought, he came up with something.  
He gathered the knights to tell them what they needed to do.  
"In order to catch whoever is doing this, we must station ourselves at Merlin's most visited places, for example in here, the kitchens, the armoury, Gaius' chambers, the stables, and the last person can follow Merlin around. There hasn't been an incident today, so we must get to it straight away. Pick a place to go, except Gwaine can't go to the kitchens, as he will just get distracted."  
"Don't worry, I'll be extra vigilant from the armoury instead," said Gwaine, turning to saunter out of the room. "I'm banned from the kitchens anyway!"  
Gwaine's POV  
Gwaine was bored. He had been sat in the armoury behind some large shields for what felt like hours, tossing his sword from one hand to another. Bored. He was never one for sitting still, and wasn't sure how much more he could take. But this is for your best friend, he told himself. Your first proper friend. So he stayed sitting there, contemplating life. He knew Merlin was due down here any minute to sharpen Arthur's sword, and after that there would be no need for him to be in here.  
So when the armoury door swung open, Gwaine craned his neck around the shields, only to be shocked at what he saw. Sir Malcolm was standing in the doorway, a snake in his arms and an evil smirk on his face. Gwaine had always got the impression Malcolm didn't particularly like Merlin, but to do this?  
Gwaine silently picked up a sword off a rack and crept round the back of the knight, before placing the tip on his back, pressing slightly harder than necessary. Sir Malcolm spun round like a deer caught in headlights, to find a sword at his throat.  
"You are coming with me" growled Gwaine, pushing Malcolm in front of him.  
They moved along the corridors, after Gwaine instructed a nearby guard to tell Merlin, Arthur and the knights to meet him in the throne room.

In the throne room...Arthur's POV  
Arthur marched through the doors, the last one to arrive. He stared in disbelief at Sir Malcolm standing there, looking at him defiantly, a snake in his hands. One of his own knights had done this?  
"Why?" was all he could say. He motioned for Merlin to stand beside him.  
"Because that boy has too much power," spat Malcom. "He doesn't belong here, he should go back to where he came from. He is rude, insubordinate, and doesn't know his place."  
"Enough," said Arthur coldly, "I see you aren't even feeling guilty. I clearly cannot trust you and cannot be certain that this will not happen again. Therefore, I am stripping you of your knighthood, and sending you back to your father, and your estate."  
"Fine!" shouted Malcolm. "Just know that if Camelot is ever under attack again, I shall watch with glee, and not lift a finger to help."  
After Malcolm left, Merlin breathed a huge sigh of relief. His tormenter was gone.

Three weeks later...  
The knights, Merlin and Arthur were in another one of their daily sessions. Merlin could feel the eyes of the knights, filled with silent encouragement, as he inched his hand closer and closer... until he was touching the head of the snake. It felt leathery and slightly warm, not at all like he'd imagined, and the snake tilted it's head in response. In a way, it was almost... cute. Almost.  
"YES!" shouted Gwaine, shocking both Merlin and the snake. The other knights cheered and Arthur slapped Merlin on the back, grinning. Merlin felt a grin sliding on to his face, happiness overwhelming him.

 **This is my first finished story! Please review if you liked it, and check out my other Melin story. Thanks again to paramalik for requesting this, I really loved writing it, and thank to ashi141 for checking over this chapter, and writing a great last paragraph instead of my attempt at ending it :)**


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